1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an elevator door system for opening and closing a car door in an elevator system in connection with and together with a hatch door in each floor, and more particularly to an improved elevator clutch device for releasing a landing door lock device before operating the car door so to reduce vibration and noise in opening/closing the car door and hatch door as well as enable the elevator moving fast.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to the skilled, the elevator system includes a car door installed to an elevator car moving through hoistway in a building, and a hatch door installed to a hall leading to the hoistway in each floor of the building. Therefore, in order that passengers board on or off the elevator, both of the car door and the hatch door should be opened. In addition, power is required to open the car and hatch doors, the elevator system employs only one driving source in the elevator so to open/close the car door and the hatch door together without using separate driving power sources in consideration of economy. Therefore, the elevator system needs another device for operating the car door and the hatch door together.
In order to open/close the car door and the hatch door together with use of one driving power source installed in the elevator, the elevator system commonly employs a clutch device for connecting the car door and the hatch door so to open/close together when the elevator stops at a floor. On the other hand, if the hatch door is opened by hand when the elevator car is not on a suitable position, there can be a risk of a person or matter to fall into the hoistway through the hatch door. Therefore, a landing door lock device is essential to the elevator system in order to lock the hatch door not opened by hand, and to unlock the hatch door only when the car door starts opening in state that the elevator car stops in a designated position.
FIG. 1 is a front view for showing a clutch device and a belt-type door driving unit employed in the conventional elevator system viewed from the hatch door. FIG. 2 is a front view for showing the landing door lock device of the hatch door installed to the elevator system viewed from the car door. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show states of the landing door lock device respectively locked and unlocked by the elevator clutch device. The conventional elevator clutch device in relation with such landing door lock device of the hatch door is explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1 at first, a driving motor 2 is mounted to a car frame 1. The driving motor 2 drives a driving pulley 4 at a reduced rotating ratio through a belt 3. In addition, the driving pulley 4 circulates a timing belt 6 connected to a driven pulley 5. Left and right car doors 7, 7xe2x80x2 are integrally hung on hanger plates 8, 8xe2x80x2, which are movably suspended on a rail 9 mounted on the car frame 1. Furthermore, one hanger plate 8 is configured to be directly led by the timing belt 6. On the other hand, though not shown in the figure, the car doors 7, 7xe2x80x2 are connected to each other through a separate rope. When one door 7 moves, the rope moves the other door 7xe2x80x2 to an opposite direction at the same time such that the car doors open.
In addition, a clutch device 10 is shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 as a conventional landing door lock device. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the clutch device 10 includes a fixed clutch bar 12 and a movable clutch bar 13 mounted parallel vertically to a base 11 fixed to the hanger plate 8 of one car door 7. Clutch arms 14, 14xe2x80x2 are mounted beside the movable clutch bar 13 in order to move the movable clutch bar 13 in parallel to the fixed clutch bar 14. In addition, a cam plate 15 is fixedly mounted to a portion of the car frame 1, and an interlocking roller 16 is connected to the movable clutch bar 13. The cam plate 15 and the interlocking roller 16 are interlocked to change a space between the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13 according to position of the car door 7.
When the car doors 7, 7xe2x80x2 are closed, the interlocking roller 16 is seated on the cam plate 15, whereby the movable clutch bar 13 of the clutch device 10 is lifted upward. Because the movable clutch bar 13 moves in linkage with the clutch arms 14, 14xe2x80x2, the space between the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13 is broadened with the movable clutch bar 13 lifted. When the elevator car moves vertically, the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13 move with the space broadened. In addition, when the elevator car moves vertically, a lock release roller 21 of the landing door lock device 20 mounted to one hanger plate 18 of the hatch doors 17, 17xe2x80x2in each floor shown in FIG. 2 passes through the broadened space between the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13. When the elevator car stops at a hall in a certain floor, the lock release rollers 21 of the landing door lock device 20 are positioned between the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13 as shown in FIG. 3. Of course, before the car door opens, space between the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13 is in broaden state, and at that time the latch 22 of the landing door lock device 20 is hooked up the locker 23. Therefore, the hatch doors 17, 17xe2x80x2 are maintained not to be opened by hand.
When the car doors close as shown in FIG. 3, the driving motor 2 shown in FIG. 1 is activated such that the car doors 7, 7xe2x80x2 are led by the timing belt 6. Then, one car door 7 at which the clutch device 10 is installed moves to an opening direction (left in the drawing). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the interlocking roller 16 comes down along the cam plate 15 so that the movable clutch bar 13 moves downward. At this time, the movable clutch bar 13 is particularly geared with the clutch arms 14, 14xe2x80x2 so to reduce distance to the fixed clutch bar 12. If the space between the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13 is narrowed, the lock release rollers 21 of the landing door lock device 20 interposed therebetween become upright from their inclined state (FIG. 3). According to that, as shown in FIG. 4, the latch 22 fixed in a locking state by the lock release rollers 21 becomes released from the locker 23. Therefore, from that time, the hatch door becomes led by the car door and opened at the same time with the lock release rollers 21 restrained in a narrowed space between the fixed and movable clutch bars 12, 13. Closing process of the hatch door and the car door is contrary to the above opening process.
In addition, a micro switch 24 is installed in the landing door lock device 20. The micro switch 24 is in contact with an actuator 25 attached to the latch 22 when the landing door lock device 20 is in a locking state, while the micro switch 24 is turned off when the landing door lock device 20 is in an unlocking state. Therefore, when contacting with the micro switch 24, the actuator 25 activates the micro switch 24 so to inform that the landing door lock device 20 is in the locking state.
However, in such conventional technique, a spatial gap is created because the clutch device should move a certain distance in order to release the landing door lock device of the hatch door after the car begins to open. Due to the spatial gap, when an initial opening speed is set fast, mechanical collision may arise in the release process of the landing door lock device. In addition, because the hatch door is hardly controlled in a process of closing up the car door, the hatch doors close with colliding with each other due to the speed of the car door. Such mechanical collision of the doors and severe vibration and noise caused therefrom may cause uneasiness of passengers and shorten lift cycle of the elevator system.
Therefore, the conventional elevator sets up speed of the car door slow in order to prevent mechanical collision and vibration and noise therefrom, which causes decreasing capacity of the elevator and inconvenience of passengers boarding on/off the elevator.
Therefore, the present invention is designed to overcome the above problems of the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved elevator door system for opening and closing car doors and hatch doors at the same time which minimizes collision, vibration and noise in the door opening/closing process and enables door speed to be set fast by means of releasing a landing door lock device of the hatch door in advance before the car door starts opening in consideration that a factor of the problem is a gap between the conventional clutch device and the landing door lock device of the hatch door.
In order to accomplish the object, the present invention provides an elevator door system comprising: a hatch door mounted on each floor in a building through which passengers board on/off an elevator; a car door installed to an elevator car through which passengers board on/off the elevator; a motor mounted on the elevator car for providing rotating force to open and close the hatch door and the car door; power transmitting means for converting the rotating force to power in order to move the hatch door to an opening or closing position; a rack connected to the power transmitting means for possibly moving horizontally in accordance with the power transmitting means; a pinion engaged with the rack for rotating by horizontal movement of the rack; clutch means connected to the pinion for transmitting or cutting off power toward the hatch door; and door lock means engaged with the clutch means, the door lock means positioned in a lock release state in which the hatch door is movable when the clutch means transmits power, while positioned in a lock state for fixing position of the hatch door when the clutch means cuts off power.
The elevator door system may include rack locking means for locking or unlocking the rack in relation to the pinion.
In the elevator door system, the clutch means may include a pair of clutch bars extended vertically parallel with facing each other, the clutch bars being movable near to or far from each other; a pair of clutch arms having first clutch arm pivoted to upper ends of the clutch bars and second clutch arm pivoted to lower ends of the clutch bars, the clutch arms moving a pair of the clutch bars near to or far from each other; and a pair of links, one ends of which are connected to the first clutch arm, the other ends of which are connected to the pinion in order to transmit rotating force of the pinion to the first clutch arm.
In the elevator door system, the rack lock means may include the rack having a horizontal elongated opening perforated therein; a guide rod which is movable horizontally in the elongated opening; a lock lever for possibly rotating to a position of restraining movement of the guide rod or a position of releasing movement of the guide rod, the lock lever having a hook for restraining the guide rod; a roller provided to one end of the lock lever; and a plate having a plane portion and an inclined portion for providing travel surface to the roller.
The rack lock means may further include a spring for biasing the lock lever to a position of restraining the guide rod.